Saquon Barkley reveals true feelings after becoming face of Madden 26

Saquon Barkley was recently announced as the cover athlete for the upcoming Madden 26 video game by EA Sports. This honor is highly coveted by many players around the NFL as itoften features one of the best players in the league from the season before.

The Philadelphia Eagles superstar running back eclipsed 2,000 rushing yards last year, so it makes sense why he was considered for the cover. He recently sat down on a podcast episode of Green Light with Chris Long to discuss the recent news.

Barkley explained:

"It's amazing. I think if you ask any kid that plays football, or anybody that's in the NFL right now, 'What's the dream of yours?' Outside of winning a Super Bowl and awards, everyone would say Madden. There's so many great players that have been on the cover of Madden, and now to have my name attached to those guys, just words can't really describe how it makes me feel. I'm super excited about it."

Saquon Barkley stated that outside of winning awards and a Super Bowl, being on the cover Madden is one of the biggest gaols that he wanted to accomplish in his NFL career. The 2025 season included him achieveing all three of those honors after being named the Offensive Player of the Year and helping the Eagles win a ring.

Saquon Barkley addresses the Madden curse

Saquon Barkley

Many around the NFL are well aware of the contrversial Madden curse in relation to the cover athletes each year. Many of them have suffered injuries in their next season and othgers have statistically regressed. It most recently happened to Christian McCaffrey, who was on the cover last year, and then missed most of the 2025 season for the San Francisco 49ers with injuries.

Saquon Barkley recently appeared on an episode of the The Insiders on NFL Network to discuss being featured on the cover of Madden 26. He was asked by Tom Pelissero if he believes in the curse.

Barkley responded:

"Nah, I'm a believer in God. That's my mindset, to be completely honest."

The superstar running back went on to explain that he has suffered injuries in his career before being featured on the Madden cover, so the curse had nothing to do with it. He is referring to his several injuries with the New York Giants, including having knee surgery. He stated that he believes if he gets injured with the Philadelphia Eagles this season, it won't be because he is on the Madden cover.